Sooners coach Bob Stoops endures the traditional dousing.
Oklahoma made sure there would be no debating which team should be
No. 1. The Sooners beat Florida State 13-2 in the Orange Bowl to finish
as the nation's only unbeaten team and undisputed champs. Tim Duncan
booted two field goals and Quentin Griffin ran for a TD after the
defense forced a fumble, giving the Sooners their seventh national
title

Orange Bowl: Sooners smother 'Noles, 13-2
So much for BCS controversy, so much for a split national championship.
So much for the Seminoles dynasty. Oklahoma's Cinderella Sooners silenced
their doubters one last time Wednesday night.

National Champs
MIAMI  If Josh Heupel and the offense brought Oklahoma to the
brink of a national championship, a swarming Sooner defense brought
home the trophy Wednesday night. As 76,835 watched at Pro Player Stadium
 and the nation watched on ABC  the Sooners reclaimed
their place atop college football. A 13-2 Orange Bowl victory over
heavily favored Florida State completed a season of perfection. It
was also the completion of a remarkable rise. It is OUs seventh
national championship, the first since the 1985 season.

UNDEFEATED: Oklahoma's Josh Heupel may not have won the Heisman Trophy,
but he led his team to a 13-2 Orange Bowl victory over Florida State.
The University of Oklahoma completed an improbable season Wednesday
night in the FedEx Orange Bowl -- winning college football's undisputed
national championship with a stunning 13-2 victory over favored Florida
State.
The victory completed a perfect season for Oklahoma (12-0) and dashed
the championship dreams of FSU (11-2) and the University of Miami
(11-1).

When Quentin Griffin, Oklahoma's 5-6 running back, hid behind the
widebodies on his offensive line and squirted into the end zone for
the game-clinching touchdown in Wednesday night's national championship
game against Florida State, little guys everywhere rejoiced. Little
guys like quarterback Josh Heupel, the former junior college player
whose wobbly passes matched the circuitous route he took to Oklahoma.

Oklahoma dominates in an unexpected defensive matchup
OU head coach Bob Stoops gives the signal that his team's No. 1, while
free safety J.T. Thatcher holds the national championship trophy a
crystal football aloft during a postgame ceremony.

End the debate. Forget the recount jokes.The Oklahoma Sooners are
the undisputed national champs. Top-ranked OU put an exclamation point
on a 13-0 season by whipping defending champion Florida State 13-2
in the Orange Bowl for its first title since 1985.

No Doubt
There is a unanimous champion after all. Oklahoma's D smothered Chris
Weinke as the Sooners stifled FSU 13-2 to win the FedEx Orange Bowl
and clinch the national title. The Heisman Trophy winner was intercepted
twice and his fourth quarter fumble set up Quentin Griffin's game-breaking
TD. The loss left FSU's seniors with another title game loss.

MIAMI - Mark the hour: 10:35 p.m., Jan. 3, 2001.That is the exact
moment when the long, dark winter of Sooner football finally became
bright. With 7:46 left on the game clock in Pro Player Stadium, Josh
Heupel's handoff to Quentin Griffin for the only touchdown in the
Orange Bowl's national championship game ended years of disappointment
under a succession of coaches. The Sooner Nation is again in the top
echelon of collegiate football with a 13-2 win over Florida State.

After polishing off a perfect season with a 13-2 victory over
No. 5 Florida State in Wednesday night's Orange Bowl, the Sooners
merely added to their list of highly regarded victims.

In finishing as the only unbeaten team in the country, Oklahoma
(13-0) also beat No. 8 Nebraska, No. 9 Kansas State twice and
No. 12 Texas.

Championship Caps Dream for Heupel

By OWEN CANFIELD
AP Sports Writer

MIAMI (AP)  Ninety minutes after taking a knee to end Oklahoma's
stunning return to No. 1, Josh Heupel stood in a light rain with family
and friends, exchanging hugs and posing for pictures.

He was in no hurry to leave Pro Player Stadium, where he had led
the Sooners to a 13-2 victory over Florida State in the Orange Bowl
for their seventh national title and first since 1985.

``It's a dream come true, a long time coming, and I wouldn't have
rather done it anywhere but here,'' Heupel said. ``It's great to have
it come to a culmination, have all your dreams come true.''

Heupel first wondered about a national title when he made his recruiting
trip to Oklahoma two years ago. He asked Bob Stoops, then in his first
month on the job, whether he felt the Sooners would be able to challenge
for a Big 12 and national championship during Heupel's two years in
Norman.
Stoops told him yes, and Heupel signed.

He came to a school that had won 12 games in the previous three seasons,
a school known for its ability to run the football, not throw it.
He was being asked to be the point man in the transition to a wide-open
passing attack.

He wound up succeeding beyond all expectations, throwing for 6,800
yards and 50 touchdowns, breaking virtually every passing record along
the way.

But Stoops often pointed to Heupel's leadership skills and toughness
as being more important than the statistics, and those traits came
through against Florida State.

Heupel, the Heisman Trophy runner-up to Florida State's Chris Weinke,
was 25-of-39 for 214 yards and one interception. But he also ran some
option plays, a handful of draws and did whatever was needed on a
night when both defenses were outstanding.

``He took some vicious hits out there, vicious,'' offensive coordinator
Mark Mangino said. ``He did what he had to do to win the game. That's
why he's a winner.

``The bottom line is, he's a winner. He proved that. He's 13-0.''

Heupel entered the game amid speculation that his throwing elbow,
which bothered him late in the regular season, was still a problem.
But for the most part, he threw the ball well against Florida State.

Mangino said the elbow wasn't 100 percent. Stoops and Heupel each
shrugged off any suggestion that Heupel wasn't OK.

``It was good enough to go on the field, therefore there's no limitations,''
Heupel said.

His 36-yard completion to Josh Norman was the big play in a first-quarter
drive that ended with a field goal. He made a bad play later in the
quarter when he threw an interception near the goal line.

But he made perhaps the biggest offensive play of the night in the
third quarter, when he rolled to his right, then threw across his
body downfield to Curtis Fagan for a 39-yard completion. That set
up Tim Duncan's second field goal and gave Oklahoma a 6-0 lead.

With Heupel in charge, the Oklahoma offense kept the ball 12 minutes
more than the Seminoles.

``This is absolutely what he wanted  to win a national championship,''
Stoops said. ``He's a great leader and he got what he wanted.''

As the game ended, several players hoisted Heupel on their shoulders
for a brief ride. He got a long hug from Stoops, and after taking
part in the trophy presentation, led the Oklahoma band in the fight
song, wearing a baseball cap backward and smiling broadly.

From there, he made his way to the stands along the sideline, where
he pulled his high school coach out of the mob. He finally fought
through the crowd of cameras and well-wishers and headed off the field
to join his teammates in the locker room.

``There's nothing to describe it, to have one vision, one goal, to
set it out before you and have it come to pass,'' Heupel said.

``It's just pure excitement, enjoyment, a little bit of relief, such
a sense of accomplishment.''